The Weed's Counsel
Said a traveller by the wayPausing, "What hast thou to say,Flower by the dusty road,That would ease a mortal's load?"
Traveller, hearken unto me!I will tell thee how to seeBeauties in the earth and skyHidden from the careless eye.I will tell thee how to hearNature's music wild and clear,--Songs of midday and of darkSuch as many never mark,Lyrics of creation sungEver since the world was young.
And thereafter thou shalt knowNeither weariness nor woe.
Thou shalt see the dawn unfoldArtistries of rose and gold,And the sunbeams on the seaDancing with the wind for glee.The red lilies of the moorsShall be torches on the floors,Where the field-lark lifts his cryTo rejoice the passer-by,In a wide world rimmed with blueLovely as when time was new.
And thereafter thou shalt fareLight of foot and free from care.
I will teach thee how to findLost enchantments of the mindAll about thee, never guessedBy indifferent unrest.Thy distracted thought shall learnPatience from the roadside fern,And a sweet philosophyFrom the flowering locust tree,--While thy heart shall not disdainThe consolation of the rain.
Not an acre but shall giveOf its strength to help thee live.
With the many-wintered sunShall thy hardy course be run.And the bright new moon shall beA lamp to thy felicity.When green-mantled spring shall comePast thy door with flute and drum,And when over wood and swampAutumn trails her scarlet pomp,No misgiving shalt thou know,Passing glad to rise and go.
So thy days shall be unrolledLike a wondrous cloth of gold.
When gray twilight with her starMakes a heaven that is not far,Touched with shadows and with dreams,Thou shalt hear the woodland streamsSinging through the starry nightHoly anthems of delight.So the ecstasy of earthShall refresh thee as at birth,And thou shalt arise each mornRadiant with a soul reborn.
And this wisdom of a dayNone shall ever take away.
What the secret, what the clewThe wayfarer must pursue?Only one thing he must haveWho would share these transports brave.Love within his heart must dwellLike a bubbling roadside well,For a spring to quicken thought,Else my counsel comes to naught.For without that quickening trustWe are less than roadside dust.
This, O traveller, is my creed,--All the wisdom of the weed!
Then the traveller set his packOnce more on his dusty back,And trudged on for many a mileFronting fortune with a smile.
Words in this poem 16
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- thereafter adv.
- After that; afterward. [AS. th\'d6ræfter after that. See There, and After.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- unrest n.
- Want of rest or repose; unquietness; sleeplessness; uneasiness; disquietude.
- roadside n.
- Land adjoining a road or highway; the part of a road or highway that borders the traveled part. Also used ajectively.
- acre n.
- Any field of arable or pasture land. [OE. aker, AS. æcer; akin to OS. accar, OHG. achar, Ger. acker, Icel. akr, Sw. åker, Dan. ager, Goth. akrs, L. ager, Gr. ajra. *2, 206.]
- misgiving n.
- Evil premonition; doubt; distrust.
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- clew v. t.
- To direct; to guide, as by a thread. [Cf. D. kluwenen. See Clew, n.]
- wayfarer n.
- One who travels; a traveler; a passenger.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- quickening n.
- The act or process of making or of becoming quick.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Weed's Counsel is in the public domain. This text is taken from Later Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #33417; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Bliss Carman, The Weed's Counsel, in Later Poems (1921), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #33417, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/carman-later-poems/the-weed-s-counsel.html, id L11045.
Form and metre
The Weed's Counsel is 80 lines in 14 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 92% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 46% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABB wayA · sayA · roadB · loadB
- 2 AABBCCDDEE meA · seeA · skyB · eyeB · hearC · clearC · darkD · markD · sungE · youngE
- 3 AA knowA · woeA
- 4 AABB--CCDD unfoldA · goldA · seaB · gleeB · moors · floors · cryC · byC · blueD · newD
- 5 AA fareA · careA
- 6 AABBCC--DD findA · mindA · guessedB · unrestB · learnC · fernC · philosophy · tree · disdainD · rainD
- 7 AA giveA · liveA
- 8 AA--BBCCDD sunA · runA · be · felicity · comeB · drumB · swampC · pompC · knowD · goD
- 9 AA unrolledA · goldA
- 10 AABBCCDDEE starA · farA · dreamsB · streamsB · nightC · delightC · earthD · birthD · mornE · rebornE
- 11 AA dayA · awayA
- 12 AABBCCDDEE clewA · pursueA · haveB · braveB · dwellC · wellC · thoughtD · naughtD · trustE · dustE
- 13 AA creedA · weedA
- 14 AABB packA · backA · mileB · smileB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Said a traveller by the way | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Pausing, "What hast thou to say, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Flower by the dusty road, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| That would ease a mortal's load?" | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Traveller, hearken unto me! | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
| I will tell thee how to see | 7 | ······· |
| Beauties in the earth and sky | 7 | /˘····· |
| Hidden from the careless eye. | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| I will tell thee how to hear | 7 | ······· |
| Nature's music wild and clear,-- | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Songs of midday and of dark | 7 | ··/···· |
| Such as many never mark, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Lyrics of creation sung | 7 | /˘·˘/˘· |
| Ever since the world was young. | 7 | /˘····· |
| And thereafter thou shalt know | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Neither weariness nor woe. | 7 | /˘/˘˘·· |
| Thou shalt see the dawn unfold | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Artistries of rose and gold, | 7 | /˘˘···· |
| And the sunbeams on the sea | 7 | ··/···· |
| Dancing with the wind for glee. | 7 | /˘····· |
| The red lilies of the moors | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Shall be torches on the floors, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Where the field-lark lifts his cry | 7 | ······· |
| To rejoice the passer-by, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| In a wide world rimmed with blue | 8 | ·····˘·· |
| Lovely as when time was new. | 7 | /˘····· |
| And thereafter thou shalt fare | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Light of foot and free from care. | 7 | ······· |
| I will teach thee how to find | 7 | ······· |
| Lost enchantments of the mind | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| All about thee, never guessed | 8 | ····/˘·˘ |
| By indifferent unrest. | 6 | ·˘/˘˘/ |
| Thy distracted thought shall learn | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Patience from the roadside fern, | 7 | /˘··/·· |
| And a sweet philosophy | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| From the flowering locust tree,-- | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘· |
| While thy heart shall not disdain | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| The consolation of the rain. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Not an acre but shall give | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Of its strength to help thee live. | 7 | ······· |
| With the many-wintered sun | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘· |
| Shall thy hardy course be run. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the bright new moon shall be | 7 | ······· |
| A lamp to thy felicity. | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| When green-mantled spring shall come | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Past thy door with flute and drum, | 7 | ······· |
| And when over wood and swamp | 7 | ······· |
| Autumn trails her scarlet pomp, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| No misgiving shalt thou know, | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Passing glad to rise and go. | 7 | /˘····· |
| So thy days shall be unrolled | 8 | ·······˘ |
| Like a wondrous cloth of gold. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| When gray twilight with her star | 7 | ··/···· |
| Makes a heaven that is not far, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Touched with shadows and with dreams, | 8 | ·˘·/···· |
| Thou shalt hear the woodland streams | 7 | ····/·· |
| Singing through the starry night | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Holy anthems of delight. | 7 | /˘/˘·˘/ |
| So the ecstasy of earth | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| Shall refresh thee as at birth, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| And thou shalt arise each morn | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Radiant with a soul reborn. | 8 | /˘˘···// |
| And this wisdom of a day | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| None shall ever take away. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| What the secret, what the clew | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| The wayfarer must pursue? | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Only one thing he must have | 7 | /˘····· |
| Who would share these transports brave. | 7 | ····˘/· |
| Love within his heart must dwell | 7 | ······· |
| Like a bubbling roadside well, | 8 | ··/˘˘/·· |
| For a spring to quicken thought, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Else my counsel comes to naught. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| For without that quickening trust | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| We are less than roadside dust. | 7 | ····/·· |
| This, O traveller, is my creed,-- | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| All the wisdom of the weed! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Then the traveller set his pack | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Once more on his dusty back, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And trudged on for many a mile | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Fronting fortune with a smile. | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
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